1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ozonized water generating apparatus and more particularly, to an ozonized water generating apparatus capable of changing the passage of a solenoid valve controlling water inflow to have a configuration where the water supplied to the solenoid valve can be accelerated, whereby the passage for mixing and controlling the water and ozone is configured in a simple manner and thereby, the number of component parts is reduced, such that the ozonized water generating apparatus can ensure the improved results in the product package, the production cost, the operation efficiency and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ozonized water is produced by mixing ozone to water and generally used for the purpose of water reclamation or provisional water-purification, thereby achieving sterilization and deodorization effects. A mechanically ozonized water generating method does not need a stand-by time required for evaporating residual materials and exhibits an excellent effect in the oxidization process of non-decomposition materials and heavy metals, when compared with chlorine disinfection used as a chemical process method. The principle parts of the general ozonized water generating apparatus are shown in FIG. 1.
In construction, the general ozonized water generating apparatus includes: an air pump 1 for sucking an external air to forcedly deliver the external air; an ozone block 3 having an ozone generator 2 for changing oxygen out of the air delivered through the air pump 1 into ozone; an ejector 4 for mixing the ozone through the ozone block 3 to the water supplied; a solenoid valve 7 installed between a water supply line 6 and the ejector 4, for controlling the water current supplied to the ejector 4 from a water source 5; a connecting pipe 8 for connecting the ejector 4 and the solenoid valve 7; and a nozzle 9 formed in the ejector 4.
The arrangement of the parts of the general ozonized water generating apparatus is varied depending upon the design method of the passages formed in the solenoid valve 7 and the ozone block 3 on the basis of the water supply line 6. The arrangement manner shown in FIG. 1 is a directly connected passage type.
In operation, briefly, the air pump 1 is driven to forcedly deliver the external air to the ozone generator 2, in which the oxygen in the external air is changed into the ozone. The changed ozone is decomposed to the oxygen, but most of the ozone that has not been decomposed is passed through a hose 10 that is silicon-processed and then ejected by the ejector 4. Next, the ejected ozone flows downstream of the solenoid valve 7 and is mixed and dissolved to the water discharged, thereby being finally discharged as the ozonized water.
The ejector 4 in the ozonized water generating apparatus functions to suck the ozone flowing at a relatively low pressure along the hose 10 by a high pressure of kinetic energy produced by the water pressure to mix the sucked ozone to the water, thereby ejecting the mixed result or functions to convey the fluid and mix the water and ozone.
Therefore, the ejector 4 plays an important role in forming the ozone concentration indicating the mixing state of the water and ozone.
The ejector 4 includes a suction port 11 into which the hose 10 through which the ozone flows is inserted, a nozzle 9 for a high pressure injection at the water inlet side thereof, and an extensive chamber 12 where the water having a high pressure of kinetic energy after passing the nozzle 9 and the ozone are met. The nozzle 9 is coupled to the solenoid valve 7 through the connecting pipe 8 and the chamber 12 is coupled to the ozone block 3, such that in the water supply process flowing along the water supply line 6 the ejector 4 can function to suck the ozone and mix the ozone and water in a stable manner.
The layout of the ejector 4 designed to be disposed on the water supply line 6 is dependent upon the solenoid valve 7. In other words, the fluid outlet 14 disposed in the opposite direction to the fluid inlet 13 of the solenoid valve 7 has an arbitrary passage length xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d and is coupled with the ejector 4 at the end side thereof through the connecting pipe 8. Based upon the above installation of the solenoid valve 7, the ejector 4 is coupled through the connecting pipe 8 with the fluid outlet 14 of the solenoid valve 7, while being separated by a predetermined interval from the center of the solenoid valve 7 by the formation of the passage length xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d of the water outlet 14.
The solenoid valve 7 and the ejector 4 are separately formed from each other and when they are assembled on the water supply line 6, the solenoid valve 7 is turned on/off by an electrical signal to thereby open and close the passages of the fluid inlet 13 and the fluid outlet 14. If the water flows, the ejector 4 changes the water into a high pressure of water by means of the nozzle 9 and sucks the ozone in the chamber 12, thereby mixing the water and ozone.
The air pump 1 as a kind of conveying means sends the external air to the ozone generator 2 to thereby produce the ozonized air and then, sends the ozonized air to the suction port 11 of the ejector 4 via the hose 10, such that the ozonized air is mixed well with the water flowing from the nozzle 9 of the ejector 4.
Really, the sending of the ozonized air to the ozone generator 2 is carried out by means of the air pump 1 and the mixing of the water and ozone is carried out by means of the ejector 4. This is because the sufficient supply of the ozonized air is achieved in case of sending the ozonized air at a high pressure to the ejector 4, but there occur problems that an excessive supply is caused and the stability (in obtaining an ideal ozone concentration) is not really verified. If the water is ejected at a high pressure during the operation of a system, therefore, the natural flowing of the ozonized air to the ejector 4 can be kept, without having the air pump 1.
The mixing of the water and ozone is carried out by sucking the external air (the ozonized air) in a convection current state by a pressure difference formed in the ejection of water at the high pressure through the nozzle 9 of the ejector 4. Such the suction state of the ozonized air may improve the stability of the mixing of the water and ozone. Since the ideal ozonized water is not achieved only by the increment of an amount of the ozone, the mixing action of the ejector 4 is an important factor in generating the ideal ozonized water.
For the layout of the conventional ozonized water generating apparatus, the solenoid valve 7 should include the fluid outlet 14 extending therefrom, the ejector 4 should include an assembling end coupled to the ozone block 3 in addition to the end of the nozzle 7 extending therefrom, the connecting pipe 8 for connecting the solenoid valve 7 and the ejector 4 should be essentially required to form a sealing processed passage, and the air pump 1 for sending the ozone generated from the ozone generator 2 to the ejector 4 through the hose 10 should be required.
Therefore, the separate parts should be required in order to couple the solenoid valve 7 and the ejector 4 and several assembling processes should be carried out in order to couple the solenoid valve 7, the ejector 4 and the ozone block 3 along a common passage.
In the conventional ozonized water generating apparatus, even if the ejector coupled to the solenoid valve only serves to suck the ozone and mix the water and ozone, it is configured in a rather complicated manner and since the ejector is coupled to the solenoid valve through the connecting pipe, it is formed after a predetermined passage length of the fluid outlet of the solenoid valve is set. As a result, the conventional ozonized water generating apparatus is somewhat difficult to be arranged in a small area and fails to achieve a satisfied efficiency of the air pump.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an ozonized water generating apparatus capable of designing a passage through which water and ozone are mixed and flow in a simple manner, such that the number of parts can be reduced and the assembling work capability can be improved.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an ozonized water generating apparatus capable of enabling the passage distance between a solenoid valve and an ozone block to be shortened, thereby achieving the freedom of arrangement design.
To attain these and other objects of the present invention, there is provided an ozonized water generating apparatus having an ozone block in which an ozone generator is installed, a solenoid valve coupled via a fluid outlet with the ozone block and coupled via a fluid inlet with a water source, for receiving the water supplied by water pressure and opening/closing the water passage, an ejector coupled with a hose providing an ozonized air to the water passing through the fluid outlet and for accelerating the water current to eject the accelerated water at the pre-step of the ozonized air inflow through the hose, and an air suction port for sucking an external air to supply the ozonized air to the ejector, the apparatus comprising: the ejector installed in the inner wall of the fluid outlet of the solenoid valve and having a nozzle for accelerating the water supplied by the water pressure to eject the accelerated water to the passage of the ozone block; the fluid outlet of the solenoid valve having a chamber in which the ozonized air is sucked and mixed; and a suction port formed in the chamber, for guiding the suction of the ozonized air.
If the ejector is directly installed on the passage of the solenoid valve opening/closing the passage of water, it can be integrated with the solenoid valve, thereby achieving some advantages that the construction thereof is made in a simple manner, the product is miniaturized, the number of parts is reduced, the assembling work is improved and the ozonized water is produced without having any air pump.